to build a house: day 3

The house doesn't look too different today, but structurally, it is. Wednesday morning is bond beam day. The group places strong bond beams in all the corners, tape the top course of blocks, then pour concrete in all of the blocks from the top down.



I arrived at St. Luke's (Georgia) site just in time for snacks...Ellie and Callie are the snack masters. Callie runs her own "Snack Shak" out of the van; Ellie is only allowed to hand out spoons.


Then the group gathers- in the shade if possible


Julie (construction staff) inspects the house, tells the group they've done a great job so far. Above it all, they have built a house, that will soon become a home for this family.


She marks the house with a smiley sticker. Oddly enough, many of the home owners leave their smiley stickers on the door until they fall off.




They it's time to secure the bond beam (essentially, you're just filling the block holes with concrete that will harden around the beam). During the week, different members of each team have different "jobs" to complete. Pouring the bond beam brings a team together offering a time for each member of the group to complete the same exact task. If possible, the future homeowners pour first. Today, the father had to leave for work, but his wife and two kids were able to pour.


In order to let the concrete dry, the groups take Wednesday afternoon off.